The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

This is a great book. I've been able to recognize myself in everything written by the author. The author talks to artists, but the term artist has to be taken with a broad sense. He clarifies it early in the book, but don't forget it as you progress in the book. Scientists, Entrepreneurs, and potentially everybody can and should be an artist too, therefore this book targets everybody. This book arrives at the best time for me, I haven't been able to find someone who truly understands the way I feel. I was shocked when I read this : "I could not handle resistance. I had one novel nine-tenths of the way through and another at ninety-nine hundreth before I threw them in the trash. I couldn't finish them." Because it is exactly what happened to me. I was working on starting a web based venture, a web platform on which I've worked for months. At some point I was literally, nine-tenth of the way through. I estimated that I just needed 2 more weeks of work before finishing. Only 2 weeks after more than 8 months working on it ! But guess what : I never finished. I couldn't explained it. At the last minute, I decided to stop the development and begin to search for customers. It made sense, it was like a rationalization : instead of working in vain you'd rather get customers first. Then as day goes by, you see that it's difficult to get customer and you begin to think : the money will take some time to come here and you clearly need to work full-time on this. Are you really ready to do it ? And bit per bit you shift away, you become to be affected by other issues of you daily life. And one month later this project belongs to the past. You've just been lying to yourself, you've been self-defeating yourself. I didn't know it was resistance before reading the book. Procastination is a weak idea, this book is more than that. The author conceptualized everything perfectly. If you ever faced a situation where resistance has defeated you, it doesn't take long before you notice that the author has a real insight and knows what he is talking about. The strengh of this book is that the author has conceptualized this wide issue as well as the way to solve it, in an easy to read but powerful manner. The concept itself is powerful. But it's not enough, in my opinion the big strength is that while the author goes to the point, the book is not a collection of recipes. You don't find a 15 bullets points methodology to apply every morning. You find liberty, your mind is freed because you understand what's really going on. This is why this book is so great. It's very easy to do a time-management / project management book exposing some systematic method that are too be applied because they just "work". It's much more hard to write a book that try to achieve these results by talking to the mind of artists. But the results there are exponentially more powerful. Indeed artists do not follow methodologies, so when you target them, unless the word you speak are word of truth and wisdom, you are unlikely to have any impact. Luckily this is clearly the case with this book, there is no methodology but there are practical methods and a practical insight who make you understand how to defeat resistance in your unique life. Go ahead and read it now. Whether you are a painter, a writer, a man willing to start a venture, to volunteer himself… you are an artist and this book is for you. This book is massively cheap for what you'll get out it. In my case, I feel it will save me dozen of years of struggle in my life. I'm glad God wanted me to understand the bigger picture, and directed me to this book. After reading it, I'm not only happy that my life will be empowered, I'm also happy to have faced this problem because thanks to this insight I'll be able to help others. It's impossible to really help someone who tells you : "I could not handle resistance. I had one novel nine-tenths of the way through and another at ninety-nine hundreth before I threw them in the trash. I couldn't finish them." without having experienced this situation and the strength and the obscure character of this inner energy by yourself. Steven Pressfield is helping us here. Now it's time to help yourself and buy this book.

In The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, readers are treated to a refreshing take on creativity, productivity, and the pursuit of one’s passions. The author seamlessly blends advice with philosophical insights, making this book a must-read for anyone seeking to unleash their creative potential. Pressfield’s exploration of the artist’s struggle is both insightful and motivating. He argues that the greatest obstacle to creativity is resistance, which manifests in various forms such as procrastination, self-doubt, and fear of failure. By identifying and overcoming resistance, individuals can tap into their inner creativity and achieve their goals. What sets this book apart is its spiritual undertones. While Pressfield acknowledges the religious aspect of creativity, emphasizing the idea of creativity as a divine gift and artists as vessels for expressing God’s will. He also ensures that non-religious readers can find value in his words. His simple yet profound language and humorous anecdotes make the book accessible to all, regardless of their beliefs. Pressfield’s no-nonsense approach encourages readers to stop making excuses and start pursuing their dreams. With its straightforward explanations and witty tone, the book is particularly helpful for individuals struggling with procrastination, offering them the motivation and tools they need to turn their aspirations into reality. It is a thought-provoking and inspirational read that offers valuable insights into the creative process and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, this book has something to offer everyone, making it a timeless classic in the realm of self-help literature.

This is the single most important book any individual can read if that individual meets the following criteria: * You are deeply unhappy with your life despite feeling that you have an immense urge to create—i.e. tortured by inactivity * You are astonished by the fact that you find yourself unable to start, but don't know why * You do not have a muse in person who helps push you * You dream but do not do This is a bold claim. I shall modify it slightly: apart from the book that inspires you most—the book in which the author literally moves your hands and guides you to begin, which Dostoevsky and Tolstoy always do—this book is the most important book for any individual that fulfils the above criteria. Certainly, it is the best non-fiction book for anyone whose life is severely affected not only by the fact that they are inactive, but by the more complex state of affairs that for some individuals, the desire to create is not something they choose. Failure to meet this inner demand, which is more important to their existence than almost anything else, leads to self-destruction that is as catastrophic as it is unavoidable. It is the source of much mental illness and therefore physical suffering. That is why this book is so important: for those who are simply born to create, not creating is tantamount to suicide. This can lead to literal suicide, or the state of suicide that is living a life that makes life a punishment. This book offers the solution to this issue not only through its clear statement of the answer, but by examining what stands in the way of living in accordance with that answer. The beauty of this book is that the author has centred in on the single-most important truth, and then dramatised this truth, and this struggle, allowing you to use the power of mythology to destroy the evil that is inactivity. I refuse to name what this truth is, because thinking one knows something and being able to act on it is precisely the issue this book solves. The end result is simple: if you are or know someone who is a person who cannot live without creating (by which I mean someone whose soul was forged to create, to search within and then present that finding to others, whether in the form of literature, music, painting, film or any other creative act—not the embarrassingly generic "I am a creative" description) and that person suffers because they are unable to force themselves to create, usually due to fear, this book is the single-best thing you can read. It is short, sweet, and powerful. It explains not only the problem and the solution, but the effects of the problem. This can shed light on issues that seemed to be disconnected, but were in fact all related to the individual's refusal to act on their nature. In this sense, this book both diagnoses and cures the source of great misery for a certain type of person, and frees them to embrace what they were born to do. This book is simply essential if you are or know someone who was born to create, but does not.

Whatever your current project is, if you love the act of creating works of art, from paintings to musical compositions, from poetry to an epic novel, then The War of Art is a book that you will need to -- or at least probably should -- read every year or so. It deals with the curse that is procrastination, as seen through the eyes of a writer, appealing to and empathising with artists in general; their struggle to engage with their muse, achieve their flow, elevate their spirit! The style is light and the reading easy-going; yet, The War of Art gets directly to the heart of the matter. It offers a comprehensive treatment of the multifarious disguised forms of procrastination, providing plenty of techniques and strategies for overcoming them; encouraging you to "go pro" and thereby up your game, conquer and win!. The book can be read in one sitting, in a matter of a few hours. The only thing I did not enjoy about The War of Art, although it does not merit the deduction of a star, is the heavy and persistent references to God. The publisher may have felt the same way, as this aspect of the book is acknowledged and to some extent justified, in the forward by Robert McKee. I am not anti-God, nor am I against Steven's expression of his passionate beliefs in this way, but as a non-Christian the references lacked relevance. The War of Art is such a great book; a cherished read.

The War of Art (nice title) is based on the premise that there is something called `resistance', which prevents artists or anyone doing anything to better themselves from getting on with the task. Resistance manifests itself in lots of different ways, but ultimately in work not getting done. Split into three parts, each comprised of several pages which are often nothing more than a pithy paragraph, The War of Art isn't heavy reading. The first part of the book identifies the problem; the second part of the book identifies the qualities of the professional who does not succumb to the problem. These parts are witty, concise, and quite inspirational. In common with some other reviewers here, I was expecting far more practical advice about how to overcome `resistance'. What War of Art effectively boils down to is an impassioned call to arms from a hotheaded military leader against a ruthless and bloodthirsty enemy. That's well and good, "but what about the tactics?" says the poor grunt about to charge the enemy guns. "Well, there aren't any. Good luck, give `em hell..." If parts one and two are good as far as they go, the third part of the book jumps off a very high pier. It's largely concerned with the author's loopy religious and philosophical ideas, which, if you didn't know better, would place him somewhere around the early 20th Century, before Freud's ideas found common currency, before World War I made people rethink the idea of progress. Back then, the best explanation for irrational drives in our lives was probably something like bad demons and good angels, which is what the author of The War of Art has settled on as the most likely explanation. To be fair to Pressfield, he does say you can call it what you like; I called it `wishful thinking'. Of course the author is entitled to his beliefs, but since the book begins with a no-nonsense call to arms against irrational beliefs about the artist, you might, like me, look back from page 166 and find yourself a long way from home.

I’ll be honest, this has been sitting in my reading pile for months now. I saw it referenced in an article by Tim Ferris when he was talking about ‘Tribe of Mentors’. I thought it sounded interesting and bought it on impulse. When it arrived, I thought it looked a little ‘light’ on practicalities for me and held back. War of ArtAfter a couple of focused business books recently, I decided to give this a try this weekend – and finished it in two sittings. It is a beautifully precise book, with an economy of language – but it is also engrossing and enjoyable. The War of Art describes the internal obstacles that inhibit success, collecting them together in a tangible, palpable collective which Pressfield describes as ‘resistance’. It’s an unseen, malevolent force that blocks so many people from achieving their true potential. By identifying ‘resistance’, the author also helps shape the attitude and form that the reader needs to adopt, in order to go to battle. By assuming the position of a ‘professional’, he sets you up for the fight. Fortunately, the professional is not alone in this war with resistance, in the third part of the book we read about the supportive forces we can summon to overcome our adversary. The book is written as a set of ideas, short paragraphs or vignettes that give an incredible insight into the human psyche. At turns, the book is practical and helpful and then turns more romantic – summoning muses and angels to help the struggling reader. The War of Art doesn’t just apply to artists and creators, but to anyone who feels resistance to anything. Resistance to moving on from the past, resistance to healing issues, resistance to moving onwards and upwards in any field. By defining the challenge and providing inspiration for the battle this book offers an eye=opening approach to the next steps. I highly recommend The War of Art to anyone who is looking for insight into human psychology and motivation.

Many readers have used this as a handbook for their new journey into the world of art. It delves into various common problems that face people who wish to enter this realm, but who have all sorts of inner queries with leaving the social ‘herd’ where earning a traditional living once had priority. Making personal change has all sorts of inner barriers and blocks, that people first need to understand in order to overcome them. It is an American book which successfully crosses the pond because of its universal agendas and is relevant to British and other global readers. There are three main parts of the book: a) Resistance, defining the enemy; b) Combating Resistance, and finding solutions, 3) Beyond Resistance, and the higher realm. Each section has many small chapters that deal with detailed issues which could be applicable to a number of budding artists. This arrangement allows each reader to stop and think about every relevant subject before moving on. The book’s advices cannot do any potential artists any harm, but is merely a question of how much will each reader gain from it. Ultimately that depends on the reader themselves.

I came across this book having seen Steven's interview with Marie Forleo on her YouTube channel. Chances are that you already have a good idea about what this book is about so I won't repeat what others have written at length. As an arch procrastinator with an embarrassingly short attention span I found the unusual structure of this book very helpful. The chapters, for want of a better word, are very short, often just a page or two and sometimes just a paragraph. However, they feel beautifully crafted with each one putting forward its meaning both concisely and powerfully (although I do find the term "Resistance" a little broad and have found substituting the word "Familiarity" helpful). I find myself re-reading War of Art and Turning Pro quite frequently and have been through both books several times now. Each time through I seem to notice something new in the relatively few words, or maybe they are just sinking in a little more. Either way, deep down we probably already know what is being written about but it somehow helps to see it before our eyes. I find that I can pick up either book, pick a page at random and find something immediately relevant to put in the 'here and now' which is so helpful. It feels that Steven has put a lot of himself into this book in quite an authentic and revealing way. I think anyone who has, or who is contemplating putting anything creative 'out there' will recognise the bravery in that. Incidentally, I ordered War of Art and Turning Pro from Amazon at the same time and Turning Pro happened to turn up first, so I read it before War of Art. I'm glad I did. Although Turning Pro was written later and expands on Part 2 of War of Art, it feels more like a prequel. I think they are both excellent books.

The cover of The War of Art has a quote by Esquire Magazine. It reads, “A vital gem… a kick in the ass.” Flip the book open and the reader will see the book is published by a firm called Black Irish Entertainment. It’s logo is a single boxing glove. While reading this book, I couldn’t help but constantly think back to this quote and image. Each chapter felt like a punch to the gut, a wake up call, a kick in the ass. Steven Pressfield titled his book The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles and he presents his readers with just that. A manual on fighting and defeating the opponent of life and resistance. I strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for the tools necessary to overcome life’s greatest obstacles, develop yourself into an accomplished professional, and become the ultimate versions of yourself. Here's why: The book was first published in 2002 and written by Steven Pressfield. Pressfield is most known for his historical fiction but has also produced many award winning non-fiction works and screenplays. His first book, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was made into a reputable film in 1995. His writing often draws parallels between historical classics, religious archetypes, and motivational revelations about his struggles and others’. His tales have motivated multitudes of individuals to conquer their fears, reach their potential, and accomplish their dreams. The War of Art is split into three books. The first book is called Resistance: Defining the Enemy. He uses this chapter to call out what he believes as the root to most of our problems. He defines Resistance as “The enemy within” and a “Force of nature”. It’s a “repelling force. It’s negative”, “Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work”, and “Resistance aims to kill.” He says everyone has had a battle with Resistance and it’s the root to many of the issues we face and develop in our lives. Substance dependence, unhappiness, and anger are just some of the effects caused from our internal battle with this self-sabotage energy. Each chapter is poetically written to describe the way resistance can infiltrate our lives and destroy us from within. The goal of this chapter is to identify to readers Resistance’s characteristics so they can recognize and fight it when face to face with this malevolence. The second book is called Combating Resistance: Turning Pro. Pressfield uses the terms professional and amateur to describe the battle with Resistance. He explains that those defeated by Resistance think like amateurs, and professionals are equipped with the tools to overpower their Resistance and reach their potential. Some of these chapters describe a professional's attributes. They’re titled: A Professional is Patient, A Professional Acts in the Face of Fear, A Professional Reinvents Himself, etc. He uses stories and accounts of his own life and others, such as golfer Tiger Woods, to paint the picture of perseverance, focus, and strength. My favorite quote from this book comes from his chapter How to be Miserable. A marine himself, he briefly talks about how Marines are trained to love being miserable, to embrace the struggle, and fight to the death. The last line reads: “Because this is war, baby. And War is hell.” Book Three is called Beyond Resistance: The Higher Realm. This chapter aims to harness the psychic powers needed to fight the Resistance he described earlier. He uses terms such as angels, demons, and muses, but offers his more secular audience the option to think of these forces as abstract and impersonal, such as gravity, instincts, or universal forces. He claims we need these allies if we are ever to defeat the enemy of Resistance. He mentions the Athenian Xenophon who would make sacrifices to the gods and call for their aid before any expedition. His own version of this he calls invoking the Muse, a Greek mythology term used to describe the nine Goddesses, or even a person or personified force used as a source of inspiration to artists. Additionally, Pressfield goes on to describe the difference between the Ego and Self. With quotes from famous psychologists such as Freud and Jung, he believes the Ego is where Resistance lies, while the Self is where the angles, or good forces, live. He describes the characteristics of the ego and how it is the “part of the psyche that believes in material existence” and nothing more. While the Self is our deepest being, united to God, and is ever-growing and ever-evolving. The Ego hates the Self, Pressfield writes, and is the perpetrator for growth, progression, and success. He goes on to describe what the Authentic self looks like, how to defeat the hierarchical orientation, and how to unleash the artist within us. As a young aspiring professional on the cusp of a career and “the rest of my life”, this book struck the deepest cord in me and immediately earned its place in my list of books to re-read every year. It’s an easy read and I read it cover to cover in about three hours. It’s organized like a manual, with short chapters, and important titles and messages that will resonate with you at different points in your life. While reading its entirety is do-able, one can just as easily flip through the chapters and meditate on the headline and chapter that speaks to you most. It makes for the ultimate bed-side book for any artists looking for daily motivation to break through their creative struggles. Pressfield also seemed to speak to me specifically. I have long been a lover of Greek mythology and culture, Xenophon, and the Bhagavad-Gita, all which he mentions and parallels in his chapters. I was also a fan of the spiritual take-aways in his third book. The War of Art is a self-help book, but differs to many I have read. It is straight to the point, raw, and hard-hitting. While many self-help books rely on abstract and vague themes, Pressfield tells his readers his truth with his own words, as blunt as possible. It’s entertaining, easy to read, and powerful to anyone seeking help. Typically, I try to stay away from definitive statements, such as “Everyone would enjoy or resonate with this book.” We are all individuals that react differently to everything. But I do firmly believe this book would provide everyone of it’s readers a piece of something they have been looking for. We are all artists, and without unlocking the creative power within us, we find ourselves riddled with dilemmas and obstacles that are far from conquerable. For all willing, this book will help you identify the enemy, equip you with the tools to fight, and unlock the mystical powers that will help you live a fulfilling life.

First, my criticism: the author claims indeed that some mental disorders are a product of marketeers; and that looking for support is an excuse to procrastinate. This is complete nonsense. That opinion may reflect a view which used to be more common when the book was written. But here he abuses his poetic license, in my opinion, especially considering that this book will be read by people who are struggling with DDA, depression and other conditions. If that’s your case, I really recommend that you seek treatment first and, when your symptoms are under control, then you take the advice in this book. Otherwise, I believe its suggestions won't feel very doable to you. That being said, I think there are some very good points in this book. I’ve been reading self-help books on procrastination for some time. Most of them written by PhDs, containing science-based information (which I find good), but also with that irritating inclination to repeat themselves to exhaustion and to fill several pages with vaguely related trivia, apparently as a mere attempt to make the book longer. Then I heard about The War of Art and it immediately caught my attention. The book is short and I read it in three or four hours. And it exerted a very positive impact on me. Time will tell whether such impact will last long enough or if I’m just benefiting from the effects of novelty and recency. But I think there’s something powerful about mentalizing your own procrastination as an external entity (the Resistance) and personalizing it. By thinking of it as a bully who annoys you and celebrates your failures, it gets more approachable. It gets easier to get away from it the same simple way you do about annoying people. It turns into an external thing you will wrestle with, instead of a part of you which you will resent. The commenters claiming that he’s trying to push a religious view about the world are mistaken: right at the very beginning of the third part (the most criticized for its religious tone), the author states very clearly that, if you don’t feel comfortable thinking of Muses and Angels, think of them in more abstract terms instead, or as products of the unconsciousness, or whatever that works for you. I invite the commenters who said otherwise to actually read and reassess it. Granted, the author is a religious person – and he points that explicitly. But it doesn’t take more than a very little effort to realize that there are some basic underlying aspects in his rituals: it’s all about habits to put oneself in a favorable disposition for the work. The book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, by Mason Currey, is full of other famous examples along those same lines. I suspect that some of the commenters who didn’t like his allegories would have embraced them enthusiastically if it were a monk using concepts from an eastern religion. The use of a christian religion might have led readers educated under a christian system to take it overly literally.

Was uns C.G. Jung über den Schattenarchetypen erzählen konnte, kann uns Pressfield über die Tiefen des kreativen Daseins berichten. Dieses Buch ist nicht nur spezifisch auf den blockierten Künstler ausgerichtet. Es werden auch Menschen, die ihre Lebensträume vor sich herschieben, was daraus gewinnen können. Kenne deinen inneren Feind, denn gegen das eigene Ego kann man sehr gut vorgehen. Das macht ungefähr 2 / 3 des Buches aus. Dann gibt es aber noch den 3. Abschnitt; da kommen dann das höhere Selbst und Lösungsstrategien ins Spiel und überhaupt hilft einem ja (wie immer) das gesamte Universum, wenn man es nur lässt - das hat die vorangehende Rezensentin, die diesem Buch nichts abgewinnen konnte, wohl nicht mehr an sich ran gelassen. Wer "Der Weg des Künstlers" von Julia Cameron mochte, aber keine Lust auf die darin enthaltenen Aufgaben hat und sich lieber in englischsprachigen, verbalen Ergüssen ob Tragik und Komödie des (Künstler-)daseins suhlt, als tiefgehend an sich zu arbeiten, der ist mit diesem Buch bestens bedient. Ich war es - und werde bei Bedarf mal wieder drin blättern, denn Selbsterkenntnis hilft. (Ich glaube, "Der Weg des Künstlers" hat mir noch mehr geholfen; das nur so am Rande und für die, die an sich arbeiten wollen.) Dieses Büchlein tuts auch. Kleine Happen (oder Bisse) - große Wirkung. Die Botschaft "lass das Große Ganze durch dich hindurch arbeiten" à la Cameron steckt hier auch drin, allerdings in einer ruppigeren, abgespeckteren, "in your face" Version, da einem an den meisten Stellen des Buches der Spiegel vorgehalten wird. - Und diese Art der Selbsterkenntnis kann sehr effizient sein! Fazit: Man blockiert sich stets selbst, ist immer selbst schuld, und man könnte diese ganze negative Energie genauso gut konstruktiv nutzen. Alles bestens.

I read the book prior to purchasing it and found it useful in combating The Indomitable Resistance. Now I keep it by my side while working. One look at the cover shames me into diligence. If I'm really desperate, I'll re-read a passage or two.

I would like to start by saying that i'm not a religious person and considering that Steven Pressfield is very religious made me think i wasn't gonna enjoy the book! But let me tell you, he brings his faith in a way that isn't overwhelming or boring and lets you understand his point of view in a very clear way! This book is the equivalent of a cold shower, it hurts like hell but wakes you up. He made me realize that all of us have a purpose in life and that by not following such purpouse you make a disfavour not only to yourself but to the entire universe! You could give purpose to many lives with your story! Read this book with an open mind and don't be forced to read/finish it, everytime you close the book ask yourself what you took away from it and if the answer is not clear... read that part again until you do! Hope this book helps other people as much as it helped me. Best regards